First day of seven fixtures across the two divisions
Div One: Gloucs v Yorks, Kent v Lancs, Som v Essex and Surrey v Hants
Somerset dismissed for just 109 against Essex
Alastair Cook passes 25,000 first-class career runs
Ollie Pope makes century for Surrey against Hampshire
Div Two: Derbys v Sussex, Durham v Leics and Notts v Glam
James Anderson and Stuart Broad sit out this round of fixtures
Zak Crawley, Jack Leach and Craig Overton return for first time since England's tour of West Indies
Balderson c Robinson b Gilchrist 7 (Kent v Lancashire 36-1)
The agony and the ecstasy for Kent's Nathan Gilchrist in the space of two balls.
First he sees a chance spilled in the slips off an edge and then the very next ball, he gets another edge and this time his wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson holds on to the second offering from George Balderson.
Kent finally with a first breakthrough.
Surrey 21-0 v Hants
Image source, Rex FeaturesSo far, so good for Rory Burns and Ryan Patel after Hampshire sent them in at The Oval.
The Surrey openers have successfully negotiated the first half-hour from Mohammad Abbas and Keith Barker.
One school of thought is that this might be a good toss for Surrey to lose? We shall see...
Green c Wheater b Steketee 15 (Somerset 15-1 v Essex)
Image source, Rex FeaturesFirst wicket of the game falls at Taunton.
Mark Steketee has a first wicket in an Essex shirt after he had to bowl on a road at Chelmsford last week without any reward.
He gets Ben Green to edge one through to wicketkeeper Adam Wheater trying to drive an uppish delivery.
Green departs having scored all of Somerset's 15 runs so far.
Glos 1-0 v Yorks
Image source, Rex FeaturesNot exactly a run-fest so far this morning at Bristol, where Yorkshire won the toss and put the home side in.
Australian opener Marcus Harris is yet to get off the mark in four overs - he's making his debut after Chris Dent was forced to withdraw, having tested positive for Covid.
Matt Fisher and Jordan Thompson the men keeping things tight for the White Rose so far.
Kent v Lancashire 11-0
Image source, Getty ImagesGeorge Balderson and Luke Wells making a largely uneventful start with the bat after winning the toss.
But, left-hander Wells has just found the boundary for the first time with a pull shot off Jackson Bird on what looks a beautiful spring morning in the Garden of England.
Somerset 9-0 v Essex
Image source, Rex FeaturesNo breakthrough as yet for Essex after winning the toss and electing to bowl first at Taunton.
Sam Cook and Mark Steketee sharing the new ball with Tom Lammonby and Ben Green opening up once again for Somerset.
Alastair Cook and Peter Siddle were Essex team-mates last season but find themselves on opposite sides this summer.
Still plenty of mateship and great respect though between the pair before play this morning.
Kent v Lancashire 0-0
Scott Read
BBC Radio Lancashire at Canterbury
"Where's Jimmy?"
I must have been asked that question half a dozen times from the stewards to spectators since arriving at the ground this morning.
However, in the absence of James Anderson, who along with Saqib Mahmood, were made unavailable by the ECB, Lancashire prepare to face Kent in their opening game of the season on a glorious Canterbury morning.
Hassan Ali and Phil Salt become Lancashire's 698th and 699th players to wear the Red Rose as both players make their debuts.
Bells have been rung and the players have strided out to the middle.
It's time for us to get going once again for another round of County Championship action.
Go well all!
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Right then - we're almost ready to get started on this first morning.
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Kent v Lancashire (11:00 BST)
Lancashire begin their County Championship campaign after sitting out last week's opening round.
Matt Parkinson is in the Red Rose facing Kent at Canterbury and after another frustrating winter as part of a touring England Test squad, will be keen to make up for lost time.
Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson says he was "gutted" to not make his Test debut during a third consecutive winter on tour with England.
Read MoreSomerset v Essex (11:00 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesThere's returning faces on both sides for the Division One meeting at Taunton between Somerset and Essex.
These two are meeting for the first time since the Bob Willis Trophy final in 2020 at Lord's which also a came a year after their title showdown at Taunton on the last day in 2019.
For Essex, Simon Harmer is back in their squad following his recent return to South Africa's Test side in both New Zealand and back at home against Bangladesh.
Somerset also welcome Matt Renshaw back to Taunton for his second stint as an overseas player while Jack Leach and Craig Overton are both available after being on England's Test tour of the West Indies.
Lewis Gregory is also back after missing the defeat by Hampshire, Jack Brooks continues to sit it out.
Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan (11:00 BST)
Hold on to your extravagant leaves outside off stump and loud calling - Marnus Labuschagne is back in county cricket and raring to go again this summer for Glamorgan.
He told BBC Sport Wales how much he was looking forward to the prospect of facing Stuart Broad and compatriot James Pattinson first up as his county travel to Trent Bridge to take on Nottinghamshire.
Unfortunately, Broad is not in Nottinghamshire's XI but Pattinson is.
World number one batsman on Nottingham v Glamorgan
Once again, the BBC Sport website and app is the place to come to hear every ball of every match live in the County Championship.
We've got BBC local radio teams at all seven fixtures in this round as well as coverage on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra of Gloucestershire v Yorkshire until 14:55 BST today.
You can tune into that commentary if you're out and about on DAB digital radio as well as through the BBC Sounds app.
Meanwhile, find your match of choice by searching through the live coverage options at the top of this page.
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Image source, Getty ImagesSeven matches on the agenda as we head into this long Easter holiday weekend.
The full list below plus news from the middle at the respective tosses a little earlier on:
Division One:
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Yorkshire - Yorkshire win toss and elect to bowl
Canterbury: Kent v Lancashire - Lancashire win toss and elect to bat
Taunton: Somerset v Essex - Essex win toss and elect to bowl
The Oval: Surrey v Hampshire - Hampshire win toss and elect to bowl
Division Two:
Derby: Derbyshire v Sussex - Derbyshire win toss and elect to bat
Chester-le-Street: Durham v Leicestershire - Leicestershire win toss and elect to field
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan - Glamorgan win toss and elect to bowl
What's the forecast got in store for us on this first day of action?
Full details below courtesy of Carol Kirkwood at the BBC Weather Centre.
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Image source, Rex FeaturesMorning everyone!
After last week's opening round, we're well and truly off and running with the new County Championship campaign as two sides who sat out last week's fixtures get their respective seasons' off and running.
Seven fixtures on the way for the next four days across this Easter weekend and the action is all set to begin in the next 15 minutes.
Welcome along once again to full live radio and text coverage across the BBC Sport website and app - thanks for joining us!